Duzi
by allison-emerson
Summary: When Yao loses custody of his younger brother, Tao is sent to a boarding school far from home with no friends and no family. Will he be able to adjust to his new life, or will he fall apart? Hetalia Fanfiction based on History. Human names used. Close-up cover image at allison-emerson on deviantART.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

With his head resting on one hand, Tao absentmindedly sketched pictures over his school worksheets. Every minute or so, his eyes would slide over to the old clock hanging on the wall. In fact, everything in Tao's house was old, used, or cheap, but that was all he and his brother could afford. Ever since they moved away from their parents' house to the big city, they have been scraping together all of their cash and living with the cheapest necessities. Sometimes, Tao wished that they had stayed with his parents in their nice little home on the countryside, but his brother, Yao, reminded him that there was nothing for them if they had stayed. Here, Yao said, there are so many more opportunities for a higher level of success. With that mindset, Yao worked multiple jobs and Tao went around their apartment complex and nearby neighborhoods, babysitting, walking pets, washing cars, and other such jobs to earn more money. Finally, a year ago, they had saved enough to get Yao into college. It was definitely not a popular or high-class college, but for Yao, it was just fine.

Tao glanced at the clock again. 5:02 PM. He was too busy daydreaming to realize that five o'clock had come and gone! Eagerly, Tao looked across the room to his brother. Yao was still hunched over his own schoolwork. Tao exhaled loudly, trying to get attention from his brother, but Yao did not look up. After a moment's hesitation, Tao stood, picked up his pencil, and flung it at Yao. The pencil spun through the air, nailing Yao in the back of his head. Yao flinched, surprised, then looked at Tao with an annoyed expression.

"Why did you do that, aru?"

Instead of replying, Tao slid into a kung fu stance, feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent, one hand raised as a high guard and one as low guard.

Seeing this, Yao checked the clock as well. He sighed. "Not tonight, aru. I'm feeling tired and I still have to finish my work. Sorry, Tao."

Tao's hands dropped back to his sides in disappointment. "Fine, teki na."

He trudged to his room moodily and flopped down onto his mattress. He was utterly disheartened and frustrated. This was the fourth week that Yao had dismissed their weekly sparring session, and, dejectedly, Tao wondered if he should even call it a weekly session anymore. Until four weeks ago, he and Yao had sparred every Wednesday night for some "brother-to-brother-time." Ironically, the first Wednesday that they had sparred was caused by their incessant bickering. Their cranky mother, with little patience left, suggested that a sparring match could determine who was right about the matter. The match was fueled with aggravation in the beginning, but towards the end it was nothing more than playful wrestling. When their energy was spent, the brothers apologized to each other, laughing and admitting to their own stupidity and stubbornness. Afterward, they began to spar every week simply for the joy of it. Even in the face of other disagreements, Yao and Tao put aside their emotions for just one hour while they sparred.

Though Tao would never voice his thoughts, he knew why Yao was so tired and distant lately. Tao knew that Yao was taking opium. Even though Yao made an effort not to smoke around Tao, his little brother had seen him with the drug several times. For Yao's sake, Tao did not tell him that he knew. He wanted Yao to at least feel successful about this issue, and by doing so lifting this small piece of stress off of his brother's shoulders.

Tao thought about this and considered talking to Yao about it. Yao seemed to be taking the drug more often, and it was obviously affecting him. Maybe it was time for Tao to admit that he had seen Yao with the drug and tell him to try to quit. Tao knew that people who take drugs end up in bad places. He didn't want his brother to lose his job or education. Maybe if he brought it up with Yao, his brother would see reason and make efforts to stop.

* * *

"Tao, you know you don't have to wake up this early for school, right?" Yao asked as during breakfast the next morning.

"I know," Tao answered. "I like seeing you in the morning, before I go to school."

In truth, Tao didn't like being alone in the apartment. If he got up early in the morning, then he would at least be able to see Yao before his older brother left for his classes.

Yao smiled. "That's nice of you, aru. I appreciate it. Also, I'm sorry we haven't sparred lately. I'll make it up to you somehow."

Tao looked from his cereal up to his brother's face. "Do you really want to make it up to me?"

Yao nodded. "Of course."

_Here goes nothing,_ Tao thought to himself. "Then, you should quit smoking, teki na."

He watched his brother's face change between expressions of shock, disbelief, anger, and then shame.

"How did you know…?" Yao muttered.

"I've seen you," Tao answered softly.

Yao lowered his head, staring at the surface of the table. "Aiyah…! I'm sorry. I didn't want you to see me like that, aru…"

Tao shook his head. "That doesn't matter anymore. Please, can you try to stop? I can see that the drugs are changing you. I don't want you to change."

Yao stared down for a long time. Tao wondered if Yao would realize that he would be late for class. _Don't think about that right now, _Tao scolded himself. _That's not important right now._

Finally, Yao took a deep breath and looked Tao in the eyes. "Yes, Tao, I promise I will try to stop. I've actually been thinking about it myself, aru. In fact, I will call Mr. Kirkland and tell him to cancel future shipments…"

Yao started muttering to himself as he rose from the table. Tao grinned, seeing determination in Yao's face once more. His determination and strong will had slowly faded while Yao was taking opium, but now that they had reappeared, Tao knew that Yao would stay true to his word.

Yao picked up his school bag and opened the front door, but paused in the doorway. He glanced back at Tao and gave him a wide grin. "Next week, we will spar. And if your silly old brother forgets… well, I give you permission to throw a handful of pencils at me, aru."

Tao returned the grin happily. "Okay, Yao! Now go, before you miss your class!"

"Aiyah! I'm late!" Yao cried, looking at the clock. Then he rushed out the door, closing it hastily behind him.

The house was eerily silent after Yao left, but this time, Tao was at ease. He stood and locked the front door, since Yao had forgotten to do so in his haste, then began preparing for school.

* * *

Tao always hated the hour just after school because he was alone in his apartment until Yao came home. This day was just like any other. As usual, Tao walked home and entered the vacant apartment cautiously, as if someone had snuck in and was waiting for him to come through the door. Once he was sure he was alone, Tao got a snack from the kitchen and started his homework. When he finished it, it was around 4:30 PM.

"Where's Yao?" Tao muttered to himself, to break the endless silence. "He's supposed to be home at four."

The telephone's sharp ringing pierced the still air like a knife, making Tao jump. Collecting himself quickly, Tao went to the counter and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Tao." It was Emil, one of Tao's school friends. "Are you done with your homework yet? Want to come to my house for a little bit?"

"Sure, but I need to ask my brother first. He's not home right now."

"Okay. Call first before you come. And come before seven."

"'Kay. See ya."

"Bye."

Tao hung up and put the phone down, looking at the clock. Only a couple of minutes had passed. Tao felt his shoulders fall, knowing that it could be a long time before Yao came home. Where was his brother? Tao suspected he had gone to get groceries or run some other errand.

Only another half hour passed before Tao grew bored of entertaining himself with reading comic books and sketching. With nothing else to do, Tao simply flopped down onto the couch in the living room and watched the front door for Yao. He lay there for quite some time, day dreaming.

_Yao, where are you?_ Tao asked himself as he waited. The sun was setting and Yao still hadn't come. Tao was starting to get worried.

Finally, a little past dusk, Tao heard a _click!_ as the door unlocked and the knob twisted.

"Ni hao, Tao… Were you waiting for me?" Yao muttered as he stepped through the door. He kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with Tao.

"Yes, I was! What took you so long? Where have you-Yao!" Tao cried as his brother slumped forward onto the floor.

He scrambled off the couch and ran forward in an attempt to catch his brother, but Yao was too heavy for Tao; he was only able to soften his fall. When Tao turned his unconscious brother onto his back, he got a clear look at Yao's face. Blood was smeared around in a clumsy attempt to wipe it away. His left eye was swollen, already turning purple. Tao ran to the kitchen to get ice for Yao's eye. Then he went to Yao's bedroom and grabbed a pillow. He pushed the pillow under Yao's head, and then placed the ice over Yao's eye. Afterward, Tao took a wet towel from the kitchen and started to clean the blood away from Yao's mouth and nose, wondering how this happened. Who picked a fight with Yao… and won?

Then Tao noticed the package sticking out from Yao's school bag. He picked it up and opened it carefully, peering inside.

It was full of opium.

* * *

**So this is my second ever fanfiction~ This fanfic is like a Dark!Hetalia version of history with my own personal additions. ^^ Thanks for checking it out! I hope you keep reading!**

**Human Names:**  
**Tao Wang - Hong Kong**  
**Yao Wang - China**  
**Emil Bondvik - Iceland**  
**Arthur Kirkland - England**

_**Historical Parallels**_

_**1839 - Conflicts involving opium trade laws started the first Anglo-Chinese War, also known as the first Opium War.**_

**P.S. The fanfiction's actual title is_ Dúzì_, but since it is very hard to type that on a keyboard, I only titled it "Duzi."**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

It took time before Tao's mind stopped reeling from feelings of confusion and betrayal, but he was eventually able to calm himself. In his moment of bewilderment Tao had dropped the package of opium on the floor, where its contents lay scattered. Tao left them there; he didn't want to touch them, as if they would burn his fingers.

Again, Tao tried to move Yao, pulling at him with all his strength. It was no good. Tao didn't want to leave him on the floor, but unless Yao suddenly lost a large amount of weight, or Tao suddenly gained a large amount of muscle, Yao would just have to stay where he was. Giving up on moving Yao, Tao knelt by his brother and searched for other bruises and injuries hidden under his clothes. He found none. Apparently, whoever had fought with Yao was only aiming for his face.

Since he had done all that he could do, Tao sat back on the couch and watched his brother, trying to figure out what had happened. Who fought Yao? And why did he have another box of cigarettes? Tao shuddered. The package was so large… Tao had seen Yao a few times with a cigarette, but he realized that he had no clue how much his brother actually smoked. How addicted was Yao?

Tao covered his face with his hands. Yao had told him that he would quit. Had Yao lied to him? A dreadful thought occurred to Tao: Had Yao gotten in a fight for the drugs? If so, then he deserved getting beat up like this! _No,_ Tao shook his head. _No, don't think like that, idiot! _he chided himself. _But then… what should I think?_

Tao's confusion was starting to give him a headache, so he decided to stop thinking about it. He didn't know what to make of all of this. Tao only knew that he did not want to see Yao, not now.

Tao trudged to his bedroom, making sure the door was firmly locked behind him.

When Yao awoke, he was surprised to find himself on the floor of the apartment with a plastic bag filled with water draped over his face. His head and eye were throbbing, and he couldn't seem to remember the last few hours clearly. Yao removed the bag of water from his face. He sat up a bit too quickly, for black spots danced in his vision. Yao closed his eyes for a few seconds to clear them before opening them and looking around. His first assumption had been correct: he was, in fact, on the floor of his apartment. Lying on the floor around him were his cigarettes, strewn across the carpet. _Aiyah, I'd better get this cleaned up before Tao sees it aru,_ Yao thought.

Then Yao remembered something. "Didn't… Didn't I promise Tao that I would quit..? Yes, I did! So, why do I have all of these?" he asked himself, rubbing his forehead. He tried to remember what he did today. He had unmistakably gone to school, as his schoolbag was still slung over his shoulder. Then… then what?

"Oh! I called Mr. Kirkland," Yao said. "I told him our deal is off… and then…"

In a flash, Yao's memory returned. When he contacted Arthur Kirkland about the drugs, Arthur was openly displeased. He offered to negotiate with Yao about it, but Yao refused and hung up. Later, as Yao was leaving his school's campus, he found Arthur waiting for him. Arthur was obnoxiously asking other students where to find Yao Wang, so Yao had no choice but to go to him and tell him to stop. Arthur had laughed lightheartedly and asked Yao if he wanted to discuss a refund for his "purchases." It seemed that Arthur had gotten over his disapproval, so Yao decided to go with him. That was his mistake. Once Arthur had led Yao to a desolate street, he brought out the package of opium and said stubbornly that the product was nonrefundable and nonreturnable. He held it out to Yao, but Yao turned away. Arthur wouldn't accept that. He grabbed at Yao's bag and tried to force it in, but Yao rejected the box. Somehow, the childish struggle escalated into a full-scale fight. Arthur was a better fighter than Yao had anticipated, and the long period of drug abuse was definitely slowing Yao's movements and reflexes. Though Yao had managed to get a few good punches in, he was ultimately defeated. Yao's memories were hazy again from this point; he assumed that Arthur had knocked him out. Then Arthur had snuck the package of opiates into his bag, and Yao, delirious from a possible concussion, went home without realizing he had the box.

"Then… I passed out again, I guess," Yao said, sighing. Then he realized that he had seen Tao before passing out. His heart seemed to miss a beat when he surveyed the room again. Had Tao seen the package?

"Aiyah! He's probably got the wrong idea!" Yao cried in dismay. He scrambled to his feet, which caused another wave of head pains, and made his way to Tao's room. But when Yao tried the doorknob, he found it locked. "Aiyah…" Yao groaned again. "Tao? Are you awake, Tao?"

Tao was, in fact, awake, but he didn't want to talk to Yao. Instead, Tao sat quietly on his bed, hugging his knees and staring blankly at the opposite wall.

"_Xiōngdì_, please answer me!" Yao's plea was slightly muffled by the door. "Tao…"

Tao made no move to reply, but only thought to himself that it was rude to talk so loudly if someone else might be asleep.

The next morning, Tao didn't eat breakfast with Yao. He still wasn't ready to talk to him. Tao listened to his footsteps as he walked around the house, preparing for another day in class. He waited until he heard the sound of the front door as it swung on its squeaky hinges and the scraping of the key in the lock. Even then, Tao stayed in his room for a few more minutes until he was sure that Yao was gone for the day. Finally, Tao unlocked his door and stepped out into the small hallway of their apartment.

He had never been so glad to be alone.

* * *

It was around seven in the morning and Arthur was sitting on a bench in the park, contemplating his next move. He wanted that loser Yao to know where his place was. No one backs out of a deal with Arthur! The Brit was getting a huge load of money from Yao. There was no way he was about to give it up, just like that! Still, Arthur decided that it would be a waste to try to shove another shipment of opium into Yao's bag again. Doing that continuously would only waste money. Also, Arthur wasn't sure that Yao would let him walk away this time. Arthur admitted to himself that Yao only lost because he underestimated Arthur; his guard was too relaxed. If he confronted Yao again directly, he was sure that the Chinese man would be too fueled by pride and anger to be defeated again. Arthur needed a new plan of attack.

Then Arthur noticed a kid walking down the sidewalk. He actually was not a kid; he could have been thirteen or fourteen. But the point was that the kid looked familiar. Gears in Arthur's mind clicked and his eyes widened slightly at his idea.

"Hey, you there!" Arthur called to him as he walked past the bench Arthur was sitting on. The boy stopped and looked at him curiously, his facial expression asking, _Me?_

"Yes, you," Arthur confirmed. "You don't happen to be Yao Wang's brother, do you?"

The boy, seeming confused as to how Arthur would know this, nodded.

"I see! I know W- Yao. You look a lot like him," Arthur said with a convincingly warm smile. However, he was already formulating a new plan to attack Yao.

The kid smiled a bit uncomfortably before turning and heading back down the sidewalk.

"I've got the best way to get at Wang," Arthur muttered to himself, chuckling, "and all I have to do is make a phone call."

* * *

As he walked home from school, Tao anticipated that this afternoon would not be enjoyable. He only had a small hour before Yao came home. What would he do? He considered locking himself in his room again, but Tao knew he couldn't do that forever. Still, he was afraid of what Yao would say to him. What would Yao do? Apologize? Tao would never be able to accept that apology, because it would mean that Yao broke his promise.

When Tao came home to his apartment that afternoon, he was surprised to find Yao already there. He was even more surprised to see two policemen, one tall and one with a big mustache, keeping Yao company.

"Tao!" Yao exclaimed when he saw him, his voice sounding slightly relieved, but on the verge of panic. The policemen looked at Tao.

"Is this your brother?" the tall one asked, and Yao nodded.

"What's going on?" Tao asked, puzzled. "Yao?"

"We're going to borrow your brother for a while," the mustache man said, crossing the living room to Tao. "While we do, you're going to have to stay somewhere else for a while, so I need you to pack a bag."

Tao frowned. "Officer, I'm not a child. Please tell me what happened."

The policeman stopped, taken aback by this. "…Very well. Your brother is being charged of abusing illegal drugs in the custody of a minor. You can't stay here anymore, but a boarding school nearby has offered to take you in."

Tao pondered this. It was not news to him that Yao was using illegal drugs, so he couldn't be staggered by the accusation. But Tao didn't realize that the penalty for doing so would have this much affect on them. Now that Tao thought about it, he should have known; the punishment for this kind of offense could not be small.

"Why can't I stay here?" he asked. "I'm used to taking care of myself."

The tall officer looked at Yao as Tao said this, and Yao bit his lip and looked down at his feet. Tao realized that what he said had left the wrong implication.

"But it's not like-" Tao started, to correct himself, but the officer with the big mustache cut him off.

"Whatever it's like," he stated, "We can't leave you here. You're a minor. You need supervision, and the boarding school offered to take you for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"However long it takes for your brother to be proven innocent."

_That doesn't answer my question, _Tao thought dejectedly. He knew that Yao wouldn't be proven innocent. Yao was guilty of all charges.

"What if I don't want to go to the school?" He asked a bit rudely. He was starting to feel upset, but he didn't know what for.

"You don't have a choice," the officer said firmly. "You have ten minutes to pack your belongings before we leave for the school."

Tao looked to Yao, who had been silent this whole time. He wanted Yao to say or do something to prevent this. Tao was upset with Yao earlier, but he didn't want to lose his brother! He stared at Yao, his eyes begging Yao to fix this mess.

Yao closed his eyes and turned away.

Tao kept his eyes on Yao as he sidestepped into the hallway to his room. Yao did not meet his eyes again, leaving Tao feeling crushed. How could Yao just accept this? What if they never saw each other again?

If Yao is just going to keep letting me down like this, then I don't want to see him again, Tao thought bitterly as he took out his old duffel bag from under his bed. He hadn't used it since he moved here with Yao, so now it was covered in dust. Tao brushed the dust away and pushed his troubling ideas out of mind with some effort before focusing on shoving clothes and other necessities into the suitcase.

The tall policeman soon appeared in his doorway. "Time's up. The school will give you anything else that you need. Let's go."

Yao and the other man were still standing in the living room as Tao followed the tall one out of the hallway. Tao stopped halfway to the front door and looked again at Yao. He knew he should say something to Yao, but he didn't know what to say. Yao made eye contact with Tao this time, as if he was faced with the same problem. The problem created by the previous night was too large to go unforgotten, yet too small to drive them apart like this.

Finally, Tao shook his head and half-smiled. "Don't forget sparring next week, Yao."

Yao blinked, then returned the smile. "I won't, aru. Cross my heart."

Tao knew that the promise was about more than sparring. It was a promise that they won't be separated for long.

"We have to go now, or we're going to be late," the tall policeman said to Tao, beckoning him forward. Tao took one last look at Yao, memorizing his eyes, his hair, his worried yet encouraging smile. Then Tao gave a small wave goodbye and followed the policeman out the door.

He climbed into the backseat of one of two police cars parked in the lot of the apartment. Tao had, fortunately, never ridden a police car before. He hoped none of his friends saw him and thought he was going to juvenile hall or something like that. He positioned his duffel bag next to him as the tall policeman started the car.

"What's the boarding school like?" Tao asked.

"It's a good size," the man answered. "Not too huge, not too tiny. There are good kids there, and a few are like you, staying there because they don't have anywhere else to go."

Tao frowned. He didn't like that comparison because he actually had a place to go, once Yao had cleaned up this opium-induced mess. The two of them had promised to see each other soon. Then, a sickening thought occurred to Tao: What if this promise was like yesterday's promise? Yao had broken that one in less than a day.

This promise is too important to be broken, Tao told himself in an attempt at reassurance. But he couldn't help but ask himself why this promise was any different from yesterday.

"It's called Angel Hill Boarding School," the policeman said. "You've never heard of it?"

Tao shook his head, then, realizing that the man couldn't see the gesture, answered, "No."

"Well, it's an hour away from town, so get comfy because we've got a long way to go."

Tao spent the whole ride gazing out the window. He saw familiar places came in and out of his vision as the car drove by. When they passed the city limits and drove toward the vacant hills in the distance, he looked back and watched his hometown shrink on the horizon. Then, as they left the valley and entered the hills, the city was completely blocked from view.

They traveled through the winding roads on the hills for another twenty minutes. Then, as the sun touched the tips of the hills, a series of buildings like Tao's apartment came into his view. Tucked between two towering hills, they didn't seem very large, though each building had four or five stories.

"Is that it?" Tao asked the policeman, pointing.

"Yep," he answered. "Welcome to Angel Hill Boarding School."

Tao's first thought was that it was stupid to call the school "Angel Hill." It wasn't even on a hill. Then he supposed that Angel Hill Boarding School was a better title than The Boarding School Next to Angel Hill or something like that.

When the police car pulled up at the front of the school, a man approached to greet them. His blonde hair was very wavy, with one flyaway curl sticking out from the center of his head. His violet eyes greeted Tao warmly as he got out of the car.

"Hello! Are you Tao Wang?" the blonde asked, a bit quietly. Tao nodded, and the blonde stuck out his hand. "I'm Matthew Williams."

Tao shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"The Headmaster has been waiting for you," said Matthew. "Let's go."

They said goodbye to the policeman, then Matthew led Tao into the school. As they went through the gates at the main entrance, Tao saw that the whole ground level was outdoors. Students were hanging out in a large central courtyard area, enjoying the Friday afternoon. A tall fountain stood in the center of the space. The large buildings that Tao had seen earlier were arranged in a square surrounding the quad, with arched entryways at even intervals in the brick walls.

Matthew led Tao down a path around the large square, to the back of the schoolyard. Tao noticed people staring at them. Conscious of this, he kept his head down.

"They'll get used to you," Matthew reassured Tao. "They're just curious about you because the Fifth House doesn't get new members often."

"Fifth House?"

"Yeah. There are five houses. The first four are for regular students, and the fifth is for the students that Ar—I mean, Headmaster Kirkland invites to the school."

Tao froze. Matthew, seeing this, stopped as well and glanced back at him. "Something wrong?"

"Did you say 'Headmaster _Kirkland?'"_ Tao asked, shocked.

"Yes. His name is Arthur Kirkland. Why?"

Tao bit his lip. "Because… I think…" He remembered that Yao had said something about a "Mr. Kirkland" when he was muttering about cancelling the drug order. Could this be the same Kirkland?

Tao shook his head. "Nevermind. It must have been someone else." Tao couldn't be sure enough to jump to conclusions, and even if he was, the matter wasn't any of Matthew's business.

"Okay," Matthew said, though his facial expression made it obvious that he was still curious about the subject.

Matthew finally stopped at a set of large double-doors at the back of the school, opposite of the front gates. Across the doors was the name _A. Kirkland_, written in gold plating.

"The Headmaster is waiting for you inside," Matthew told Tao. "See you around."

"Okay. Bye."

Tao watched Matthew walk away for a moment, and then faced the doors. His mind was racing. Was this the man that sold the opium to Yao? Did the man know that Tao was Yao's brother? Taking a deep breath, Tao pushed the doors open.

A man with messy blonde hair was hunched over his paperwork. He looked up when he heard the doors.

"Ah, Tao Wang, come in."

Tao stopped dead in the doorway. He recognized this man: the blonde hair, the bright green eyes, the strangely bushy eyebrows, the guarded smile on his lips.

"Oh," Tao gasped. "It's you."

* * *

**Here's chapter two. Man, I hate beginnings... Thanks again for reading.**

**Matthew Williams = Canada**

**-**  
_**Historical Parallels**_

_**1842 - Hong Kong is ceded to Great Britain as a result of the Treaty of Nanking/Nanjing, which ended the Opium War.**_


End file.
